Earth Day Celebration

Project of the week:
As part of our Earth Day Celebrations, we decided to go green by recycling the students’ winter clothes. The idea was to convert their winter wear into summer attire! Each of them brought their blue jeans for this project. They learned to cut their jeans and sew them into a Capri and Shorts. The kids were really excited to try on their finished products. And they ended up saving a few bucks too!

Simple Skirt

Spring is here and it is time to do a little makeover in the closet. We at Sewing with Sella decided to do some skirts as part of our class project.
I wanted to teach them to make a simple skirt for our first intermediate sewing class project.

These skirts are easy to make once you get the measurements figured out
Measure the student’s waist in inches. Then measure how long she wants the skirt to be from the waist to the bottom hem.
I used a Stretch Cotton Twill fabric with bold big flowers in pink, black, and yellow in combination with a plain pink fabric for the binding.
The intermediate class students learned how to easily cut fabric strips using shape cut ruler (the slotted ruler with tear drop shapes at each end) and rotary cutter with a cutting mat.

The skirts were irresistible so I made one for me too! The girls are loving it. So am I. Turns out now my daughter and I have another Mother Daughter skirt to wear!!!

Cosmetic Kit

Project of the week: This week the students made a cosmetic kit.

Students selected their fabric and ribbons of their choice to go on the sides of the zipper.

We used a heavy weight fabric as lining to make the bag retain its shape.

Students gained more experience in sewing zippers.

Initially they had a hard time putting the ribbons together on the sides of the zipper.

This project also helped them to handle and sew slippery fabrics.

Pencil Pouch

Project of the week: Pencil Pouch

This week the students made a pencil pouch with zipper. At first they were intimidated by the zipper not sure how to sew it on to fabric. I showed them how to do it in a few simple steps. They followed my simplified steps and did it.

Guess what? They now think inserting zipper is not such a big deal anymore!

Child Measurement Chart

How many times have you been sewing something for a child when the directions say to cut a piece of elastic to the length of the child’s waist and you have to wait till the child comes from school.
I found this chart from Owly Baby Just do all of your measuring and record the numbers on the handy chart, and the next time you need to know any of her measurements you can just look it up. You can update this every year, they grow fast!

Clutch Purse

Project of the week: This week the students made a little zippered purse. The kids customized their purses the way they wanted. Of course they had a bonus waiting for them – yes, they got to play with the embroidery machine again!
This purse would make a nice gift. Slip in a gift card and it would be a great way to say thank you to their teacher or a special way to say Happy Mother's Day to mom.

A customized purse is perfect because you created it yourself to fit your needs. Plus, there's the undeniable thrill of using a cute fabric to sew a completely unique purse.

Cushion Cover with Peace Sign

Project of the week: Peazzz Pillow

My students and I always discuss our project in detail before getting started. February is all about love and since they all like the Peace sign, we decided to make an appliqué of the peace sign on a love print fabric. The kids picked the fabric from my stash which was perfect for the project.

I made a peace sign pattern on my computer, printed it and then pasted it on a leather board and made the pattern.

The girls used that pattern and cut their peace sign appliqué. We chose a dark material for their cover so as to get a contrast effect. They picked purple which was perfect. Each kid chose a different seam to sew the Peace appliqué on the pillow case and matched this seam to the back closure as well. The result? A gorgeous pillow case!

Tacky Ties

Project of the week:

The kids had lots of fun making their own tacky ties for Tacky Tie day at their school. The ties were created out of colorful fabric which gave them a cool tacky look.

Wallet

Project of the week:

Cotton fabric wallet. Ideal for ID cards, Library card and of course their allowance. They were surprised at how much this fabric wallet can hold.

Apron for Kids

Project of the week:

This week the students made an apron. They got to explore the Brother Embroidery machine. They embroidered their names on the body of the apron and their initials on the pockets. They were thrilled to see how the machine sews by itself.

Tool Kit

Project of the week:

Tool Kit. Students made a beautiful tool kit out of their old pair of jeans. Tough enough to hold real tools.